What’s in your bag?
Every single day in grade school we brought a trunk-like bag of books and notebooks on a trolley, a shoulder bag, and a lunchbox. It was like training to be a llama.
We carry less stuff these days, but still more than we need, and we know exactly why: We’re paranoid, and we like to be prepared. We don’t want to get stuck in traffic without a book to read, with a backup book in case the first choice bores us. If we are surrounded by noisy people over-sharing intimate details of their lives, we have to have our own music to plug up our ears with. If an idea strikes, we have to have the right notebook to record it in: one for fiction, one for columns, one for bits we don’t know what to do with yet, and a separate journal for appointments. We need sunglasses, lip balm, a scarf, at least three pens, and don’t forget an umbrella. The fact that we never have reason to use all of these each day does not mean we can leave them at home. Everyone knows that on the one day you leave your Swiss knife at home, someone will produce a bottle of wine and you will need a corkscrew. (At least we don’t carry two terabyte drives like our friend does.)
The solution is to have a large, lightweight bag with many pockets. Leather looks and smells great, but it’s heavy. Cloth bags are portable, until it rains. Right now our favorite bag is this rectangular sac from the French brand Bensimon.
We found Bensimon bags and their famous sneakers at Common Thread on the second floor of Greenbelt 5 in Ayala Center.
It was either the Bensimon sac or these waterproof canvas messenger bags by the local brand Gouache. In the end we went for the lighter bag.
Common Thread carries an assortment of brands and products: Hoola sunglasses, K-Way waterproof folding jackets, Praiaz all-terrain shoes, Thread 365 tees, (ugh, Hipster Guide),
Allegrina ballet flats, the ever-popular Havaianas, including neon espadrilles,
and headphones and accessories, such as these portable bamboo speakers. These should keep us from accidentally eavesdropping on the private lives of random strangers.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
February 26th, 2014 at 00:52
In my office bag: keys, MRT/LRT tickets, mint candies, ciggie case, A7-sized notebook, a book I am currently reading, fully-loaded cosmetics kit, fully-loaded pencil case, large cologne, small bottle of alcohol, small lotion dispenser, wet tissue, tissue paper, fan, iPod + charger and earphones, two mobile phones + chargers, an umbrella, eyeglasses, a wallet for 500 and 1000 bills, a wallet for lower than 500 bills and coins, a card case (approx. 3 kilos)
During weekends, the above minus the umbrella, train tickets, cologne, chargers, fan; plus three more fully-loaded pencil cases and a folder bag with sketch pads, watercolor pads, and study notebook (approx. 1 kilo because I use a cloth bag; the folder bag is probably 1/2 kilo)
On special occasions: powder, lip gloss, mobile phones, iPod, walletses, a pen, ciggies, mint candy
Kapag bumibili ako ng bag, ang una kong itinatanong ay, “Ilang kilo ang kaya ng handle nito?”
Paumanhin sa mahabang post. Nais ko lang ipabatid na hindi kayo nag-iisa.
February 26th, 2014 at 02:37
In my work purse: my pregnancy test stick from 2 years ago, maxi pads with wings, 1 iced tea to go packet, a digital camera, unpaid bills.
In my messenger bag: water, goldfish crackers and fruit bites for Caitlyn, wipes, diaper, something sticky i cant figure out what it was, ticket stubs to Disneyland, the aquarium and the zoo, spray bottle of baby bench, a rattle (she’s two… maybe i should take that out), plastic bags for dirty diapers.
I need one of those canvas messenger bags.